The Ministry of National Defense is considering the first-ever contacts between the military and China’s People’s Liberation Army, but has set no timetable for any meetings, a senior defense official said yesterday.
Ministry of National Defense spokeswoman Lisa Chi (池玉蘭) said the ministry would start with bilateral contacts between retired and junior military officers and “then move on to high-level meetings between senior officials.”
“No timetable has been set for the military exchange,” Chi said.
A schedule would only come “after the government holds discussions on economic and political issues with China,” Chi said.
TV news reports showed Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏) telling local reporters on Tuesday that meetings between senior officials from the two sides would help reduce misunderstandings and the possibility of either side resorting to force.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said earlier this year that he wants to push for discussions with China on economic issues first and then proceed to thorny diplomatic and security issues.
He also said he hoped to sign a formal peace treaty with Beijing, though without specifying what it might contain.
Within a month of his inauguration on May 20, Ma sent a delegation to Beijing to resume bilateral talks after a hiatus of almost 10 years.
The talks facilitated regular weekend charter flights across the Strait were facilitated and made it possible for more Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan.
Next week, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) will visit Taiwan.
Taiwanese officials have said the talks will focus only on economic issues, including the expansion of weekend charter flights to weekday service.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
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